Plant-Based 'Chicken' Soup

Plant-Based 'Chicken' Soup

This is our go-to when someone's feeling under the weather or it's just one of those grey, drizzly days where you need something proper warming. We've been making this plant-based chicken soup for ages now and honestly, it never gets old. The mushroom stems do something almost magical here, pulling apart into these shredded, meaty strips that make you do a double take. It's rich, herby, deeply comforting, and ready in 35 minutes. Make it tonight, we promise you'll be glad you did.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Stock pot
  • Prepare all vegetables before cooking (onions, carrots, celery, garlic, kale, parsley, thyme)

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp plant-based chicken seasoning
  • 2 tbsp Nooch
  • 2 white onions
  • 3 carrots
  • 4 celery stick
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 6 sprig of fresh thyme
  • 600g king oyster mushrooms
  • 100g plant-based yoghurt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 litre low-sodium vegetable stock
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 100g kale
  • 10g parsley
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • sourdough

Method

1

First, prepare the veggies

  • Cut the caps off the mushrooms and cut into fine slices
  • Pull rough strips off the stems (the strips will resemble shredded chicken) and set to one side
2

Peel, trim and halve the onions

  • Peel, trim and roughly chop the carrot
  • Trim and roughly chop the celery
  • Put all carrot, onion and celery in the food processor and pulse until diced
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Strip the thyme leaves off the stalks
  • Prepare the stock
  • De-stalk and shred the kale
  • Pick the parsley leaves and roughly chop
3

Now, make the soup

  • Warm the olive oil in a stock pot over a medium heat
  • Add the onions, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt to the pan and stir for 5-6 minutes
  • Add the garlic and thyme to the pan and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the chicken (shredded mushrooms) and chicken seasoning to the pan and stir for 6-7 minutes
  • Add the dairy free yoghurt and nutritional yeast to the pan and stir for 1 minute to combine
  • Add the bay leaf and stock to the pan and stir to combine
  • Turn the heat up and simmer for 8-10 minutes
4

Finish making your soup

  • Add the kale to the pan and stir into the soup
  • Squeeze the lemon into the pan, catching any pips in your spare hand
  • Leave the soup to simmer for 2-3 minutes
  • Add the parsley leaves (keeping a few aside for garnish) to the pan and stir to combine
  • Taste the soup and season to perfection with salt and lots of pepper
5

Time to serve! 

  • Ladle the soup into 4 bowls, sprinkle over a little salt, pepper and nutritional yeast
  • Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with sourdough bread

Tips & Variations

  • Get the mushroom shred right: Pull the stems apart slowly and go with the grain of the mushroom. The rougher and more uneven the strips, the more they'll resemble shredded chicken once they've cooked down in the broth.
  • Don't rush the base: Give the onion, carrot and celery a proper few minutes in the pan before adding anything else. That little bit of patience at the start is what gives the soup its depth.
  • Season as you go: We always taste and adjust right at the end. A squeeze of lemon and an extra pinch of salt just before serving can really lift the whole thing.

Why This Works

The trick is in the mushrooms. Using the stems and pulling them into rough strips gives you that shredded chicken texture that makes this soup feel genuinely hearty rather than like something's missing. Pulsing the onion, carrot and celery together in a food processor is a bit of a game changer too as it saves loads of time and means every spoonful is packed with flavour rather than big chunks of veg.